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February 13, 1633 was the final day of the trial led by the Holy Office. Galileo once again walked into the same dim, candle-lit room in one of the beautiful churches of Rome. The eyes of the paintings, statues, and members of the Holy Office judge him as he entered. He alone was the center of attention. Guards watched over his shoulder, ensuring that he would have to face his fate one way or another. Seeing Cardinal Francesco, Galileo knew there might just be a sliver of hope.1 If he was fortunate, he would be a free man and would finally be allowed to publish his work. But hope was slim for those who speak against the teachings of the Church and expect to get away with it. Galileo was now facing trial for heresy against the Catholic Church, as he was spreading “false” information about the center of our universe with his heliocentric theory.

Astronomer, mathematician, and physicist, Galileo Galilei had quite the knack for stirring up trouble. Born February 15, 1564 in Pisa, Italy, he was not afraid to proudly speak up for what he believed in.2 Just like other scientists, he was passionate about his work. Galileo had become a fierce opponent of the Aristotelian philosophy that dominated the universities, and he openly criticized Aristotle. Since he had never finished college, those who were educated and champions of Aristotle’s philosophy often looked down on him and thought of him as a buffoon.3 This treatment would continue even when Galileo became a professor (without finishing college still). Although it was one of his first experiences being looked down upon, it would not be his last.

Andreas Cellarius’s depiction of a heliocentric solar system (1708) | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

First introduced in the sixth century BCE, heliocentric theory claimed that the sun was the center of our universe, directly contrary to the geocentric view that claimed that the earth was its center.4 This heliocentric idea had been discussed among astronomers and philosophers for centuries, but was simply dismissed because of the reigning geocentric view, based on the work of the ancient astronomer Ptolemy. It was not until Nicholas Copernicus published his book De revolutionibus in 1543 that there was a mathematical way to propose this new way of observing our place in the universe. Knowing the dangers of Copernicus’ work, Andreas Osiander included a preface that implied the new system was merely a hypothesis and nothing more.5

So, when Galileo openly claimed to believe in Copernicus’ ideas in 1604, he immediately put himself on the radar of the church.6 Thankfully, he had deep relationships and important friends within the church, especially among various cardinals and priests. More specifically, he was good friends with Cardinal Maffeo Barberini, who often vouched for him with the Holy Office and with Pope Paul V himself.7 Galileo would get away with speaking and teaching the ideas of heliocentrism for now. This time, his relationships kept him from facing condemnation by the church.

Under the motivation from fellow astronomer Johannes Kepler, Galileo decided he would begin to push back at the church.8 Although he was a Catholic himself, he was tired of the church always having the final word.9 He was tired of having to conform his celestial observations to a literal interpretation of the Bible. As a philosopher, he began to think of just how he could find a way around geocentric interpretations of Biblical passages without being seen as attacking God Himself. Knowing he would have to dig deep into the Bible to build a valid argument, he used his contacts in the church to help him once again. With the help of Monsignor Piero Dini and Father Bendetto Castelli, he was able to write various essays in which he essentially argued that the scriptures are meant to teach lessons. The scriptures were true, but oftentimes the imagery of scripture was used simply to convey spiritual meaning, not actually to describe the physical world scientifically.10 Galileo claimed that the Bible, in its entirety, was not meant to be interpreted literally in all places at all times. With his patience running thin, Pope Paul V ordered the Holy Office to begin investigating Galileo. Not even Cardinal Maffeo Barberini could convince the pope otherwise. Galileo would no longer be stirring up trouble, as on February 19, 1616, Copernicus’ De revolutionibus would be banned, and Galileo would secretly be ordered to stop teaching and defending Copernicus in anyway.11 Once again, the church shut down ideas contrary to theirs.

Galileo decided to let his case rest, following the 1616 trial. As much as he had a fire in him to prove his ideas right, he was unable. While he was not formally charged, he was constantly under a microscope. Galileo had to be careful of what he taught and wrote.12 Especially with Pope Paul in charge, there was not much he could do. Being as smart as he was, Galileo knew that hope was not lost. Since he was not formally punished, all he had to do was play the waiting game. Eventually, Pope Paul would have to step down or pass away, and Galileo would then be in the clear. Anxiously, he waited until he could finally begin working on his ideas again.

Portrait of Galileo painted by Peter Paul Rubens c. 1630 | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

After waiting seven years, Pope Gregory XV died and his old friend Cardinal Maffeo Barberini was elected Pope in 1623. The waiting game had finally paid off for Galileo, or so it seemed. Knowing Galileo’s troublesome nature, Pope Urban VIII (Maffeo) called Galileo to Rome to have a few meetings with him. Ecstatic over his new-found opportunity, Galileo rushed to Rome to get the green light from him. He would then have six different meetings in which Galileo would try to get a pass, but Pope Urban would not give him one. Despite this, Pope Urban told Galileo that as long he kept his work theoretical, as Copernicus had, he would not have issues with the church any longer.13

With his motivation back, Galileo decided to ignore the warnings of his friend. He would spend the following six years working on the mathematical proof demonstrating that the earth was not the center of the universe. After being silenced for what was an eternity, Galileo refused to be silenced any longer. In January of 1630, his hard work paid off as his book was finally completed.14 Titled Dialagoue of the Two Chief World Systems, publication was the only step left. While the final copy was being worked on, Father Castelli informed Galileo of an old conversation he had with Pope Urban. During the 1616 trial, Pope Urban (then a cardinal) told Father Castelli that if he were pope, Copernicanism would never have been banned. The recent conversations Galileo had had with the pope ran fresh in his head and to him, this was a sign that he would be able to get away with publishing his work. On top of this, he also learned he was also well liked by the Pope’s theologian Nicolò Riccardi.15 Everything was finally falling into place for the hard-headed astronomer.

Yet, publishing his book would be troublesome on his own. Even though he was only informally punished back in 1616, his troublesome reputation stuck with him. Printing Galileo’s findings would be risky even for the most reputable printer. To get his book printed, Galileo would include a “submission clause” giving the illusion that he was in line with the church’s orders in the introduction and conclusion. It took another two long years to finally get his book published.16

Statue of Galileo located at Uffizi, Florence | Courtesy of Pixabay

Galileo had finally accomplished his goal of circulating his work. His already household name now guaranteed himself a place in history books. As beloved as he was by many of the high church members, a few were set to get him to quit his actions. Someone had convinced Galileo’s dear friend Maffeo that he was trying to embarrass him by publishing his work.17 Once again, he found himself in Rome facing trial. Already let off with a warning, hope was beginning to look bleak for the astronomer. His friends could no longer help him as a prominent subgroup of the church were out for Galileo’s head. Not even Cardinal Francesco (nephew of the pope) who wanted Galileo to once again be free, could change a thing. Anything less than condemnation would not be tolerated.

His enemies’ success came on February 13, 1633, as Galileo was officially condemned.18 His work would be placed on the list of banned reading. On top of this, he was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. Here he continued to accept secret visitors against the orders of the church and further his scientific work. He passed away in Florence, Italy on January 8, 1642. The church had finally silenced the cunning astronomer.

As much as it seemed that the church got the last laugh, Galileo had the last laugh up in the heavens. Nearly 300 years later, in 1983, Pope John Paul II declared that the church had made an error in condemning Galileo. He essentially used Galileo’s original argument that the Bible does not always describe the physical world, and that the Bible holds both literal and figurative interpretations.19 Galileo never wanted the church to look bad or go against it. He was simply seeking the truth of the nature of our universe. According to Galileo, the truths of scripture, when properly understood, do not conflict with the truths of science.

  1. Ernan McMullin, The Church and Galileo (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2005), 63.
  2. Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, 2003, s.v. “Galileo Galilei,” by William R. Shea, 349.
  3. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003, s.v. “Galilei, Galileo,” by J.J. Langford, 59.
  4.  The Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 2008, s.v. “Heliocentric Theory,” by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, 2096.
  5. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003, s.v. “Galilei, Galileo,” by J.J. Langford, 59.
  6. Encyclopedia of European Social History, 2011, s.v. “Galileo Galilei (1564-1642).”
  7. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003, s.v. “Galilei, Galileo,” by J.J. Langford, 62.
  8. J.L. Heilbron, Galileo (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020), 112.
  9. Encyclopedia of European Social History, 2011, s.v. “Galileo Galilei (1564-1642),” 113.
  10. Joseph D. Bryne and Arthur R. Sienburg, “Galileo Willfully Violated the Injections of the Inquisition and was thus Guilty at his 1622 Trial,” The High Middle Ages to the Modern World, no. 3 (2011): 241.
  11. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003, s.v. “Galilei, Galileo,” by J.J. Langford, 61.
  12. Joseph D. Bryne and Arthur R. Sienburg, “Galileo Willfully Violated the Injections of the Inquisition and was thus Guilty at his 1622 Trial,” The High Middle Ages to the Modern World, no. 3 (2011): 225.
  13. Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, 2003, s.v. “Galileo Galilei,” by William R. Shea, 62.
  14. Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, 2003, s.v. “Galileo Galilei,” by William R. Shea, 351.
  15. Encyclopedia of European Social History, 2011, s.v. “Galileo Galilei (1564-1642),” 113-114.
  16. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003, s.v. “Galilei, Galileo,” by J.J. Langford, 62.
  17. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2003, s.v. “Galilei, Galileo,” by J.J. Langford, 62.
  18. Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, 2003, s.v. “Galileo Galilei,” by William R. Shea, 351.
  19. Encyclopedia of Science and Religion, 2003, s.v. “Galileo Galilei,” by William R. Shea, 351.

Recent Comments

137 comments

  • Monserrat Garcia

    Galileo is such key figure in history and I feel like everyone knows of him but doesn’t know enough about his struggles and this article gives everything their is to know about his story. I believe the Scientific Revolution marked the beginning of change, with the enlightenment, which has ultimately led to us being able to perceive what we like and challenge the people in power… I find it fascinating that Pope John Paul II declared that the church did an error in prosecuting and condemning Galileo because that portrays how much humanity has evolved and with it the thinking process.

  • Jake Faryniarz

    This article was very interesting about Galileo and what he had to go through to try and convince the people of his heliocentric view on the universe. Even though he had worked hard to prove his idea, many people looked down on him because it disproved the teachings in the Bible. Since he wasn’t able to convince the court about his view on the universe he was condemned and all of his teachings over the topic were outlawed. It is crazy that it took 300 years until the Catholic Church finally said they were wrong and that Galileo was right about the sun being the center of the universe. This was a very well written article and easy to follow along with the story.

  • Justine Ruiz

    I really enjoyed reading this article! The author did an amazing job in giving me insight into the mind of Galileo to see how much his work genuinely meant to him. Galileo was very dedicated to his work despite the possibility of being condemned for it. In all my middle school science classes, I learned about Galileo, but never knew about the background story of his theory. It’s crazy to realize how he was so ahead of his time yet almost got condemned for it due to no one else thinking that way.

  • Zack Davis

    This article is so interesting as I do not know a lot about this. I do know that Galileo’s teachings are very important, but I’ve never truly gone in depth about how the church impacted some of his teachings. It seems as if he didn’t necessarily want to be against the church; however, it’s inevitable as Science and Religion sometime contradict one another. Great post, thank you for you research and insight on this topic.

  • Yaniev Ibarra

    I loved this article! Galileo never wanted to go against the church, he simply wanted to find truths in the nature of the universe. However, the church took it as a personal attack to God and the scripture. The church failed to properly understand the truths of science. He was condemned for being far too intelligent to be understood in that point in time. I love to see that he stood by his work and was so passionate about it. The church had the final word, but all along he was correct. Makes me wonder if he even imagined being remembered even after death.

  • Alyssa Ramos

    I remember Galileo after learning about him in my elementary school science classes. We learned about his ideas and how he was the first scientist to prove that the Earth and the planets revolved around the sun, but they neglected to give us any more detail. Living in the age we do now, it is crazy to learn about how much power the church had. Without his connections, Galileo would have been charged with heresy. He was ahead of his time but without his hard work and determination, Galileo helped discover something that would be important.

  • Emmett Pena

    Galileo is essential to our everyday teachings that we have today. Because of his hard work and dedication to make his work public, despite the possibility of being condemned for it, we are able live day by day knowing that the information we have today is accurate and worthy of learning. The author greatly allowed us to view the mind of Galileo and see how much his work meant to him and how far he was willing to go to prove himself write.

  • Carlos Serna

    I will always remember the name of Galileo Galilei. It has been a name that I had been teach since I was very young. His story of how he faced the Church to publish his work is impressive and I loved how this article tells us the story with many facts. For me is almost a story that I now of memory and I always loved to read a story that I really like.

  • Adrianna Hernandez

    It is crazy how Galileo never gave up to publish his book knowing that the church would not approve of his work. Before reading this article I was not aware of how much Galileo had gone through. It amazed me to find out that even though he was in house arrest he still managed to get visitors against the churches orders.

  • Kayla Mendez

    The fact that Pope John Paul II admitted the church’s error adds to Galileo’s sad fate. Although some parts/stories of the bible are meant to be interpreted literally, much of it is left for the reader to interpret figuratively. Thus, allowing believers to continue learning endlessly. Galileo pushed for the church to see that, unfortunately, it’s hard to rewrite rules that have been followed by so many generations. However, his efforts and hard work miraculously lived and will forever be a part of history.

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